All of the members could still rank up they just have to prove that they are worth it,
They just have to prove that they aren't one of those spammer's who are just spamming nonsense in this forum.
And I think if their comment,thread or post is really informative or helpful there would be a forum member that would surely give them a merit.
For receiving merits, briefly, I think there are
several important points that lower-ranked users should remember in their heads before writing threads:
1. Don't plagiarise (because it violates the 33th rule of the forum,
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=703657.0)
2. Don't spamming with low-quality, non-sense, off-topic threads
3. Don't too much offended or defended (posts should be as neutral as possisble)
4. Don't try to spread FUDs around the forum (will be permanently banned by admin or moderators).
5. Write good, high-quality, on-topic, useful, meaningful threads/ topics (which are constructive, solving-problem posts).
6. Write in good-quality English grammar and vocabularies (which don't lead to unexpected misunderstandings).
7. Write posts with clear, transparent evidences (links attached if mention about other topics, figures, images of technical issuses, etc.)
Of course, there are more tips new users should follow, practice, and use them when they write. These one are only some of them in a nutshell.
I strongly believe in the merit system and its possitive, massive impacts on the forum's users, particulary new ones.